Largest survey finds UK 3D design jobs taking off

April 26, 2013

Freelancer.co.uk Fast 50, the world's largest online jobs survey, released its survey result today.

The survey of 280,000 online jobs found that businesses hiring experts to create an ecommerce site was up 19% in the first three months of 2013. The results reveal that British small businesses are moving online in order to become more competitive and signals even greater competition for high street retailers.

"The online commerce is disrupting the retail sector so drastically that many traditional establishments are now charging money to allow consumers to see and hold an item in person - accepting that their next action will be to buy the item cheaper online,' said Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.co.uk.

"Retail outlets are proving incapable of adjusting to a consumer base no longer geographically captive. Ecommerce is dominating the consumer retail landscape. It's no surprise that big name retailers that haven't kept up with the online shopping revolution are increasingly going bankrupt. These high street dinosaurs are unwilling to compete, and so will soon be consigned to retail history."

The survey also found that 3D design jobs take off as 3D printers like MakerBot start to go mainstream. Powered by open-source software, this surge in interest in 3D printing has resulted in a surge of growth for the 3D Modeling up 21% and 3D Rendering up 13%, and 3D Animation up 6%.

“One of the most exciting new technologies to emerge in the past few years is desktop 3D printing. Previously an expensive industrial tool for rapid prototyping, advances in materials science and computing power, along with a healthy dose of investment, has seen the price of a desktop 3D printer reduce from $20,000 to $1,000 or less. This substantial cost reduction has seen 3D printing devices (like the MakerBot Replicator 2X) reach the home and spawned a whole new DIY/enthusiast/early adopter community,” Barrie said.